Total deposits with authorised institutions grew 1.6% in December, the Monetary Authority says, adding that of the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits and foreign currency deposits rose 2% and 1.2% respectively.

Total loans and advances rose 0.6%. Of the total, loans for use in Hong Kong rose 0.7%, while loans for outside Hong Kong fell 0.1%.

Analysed by currency, Hong Kong dollar loans and foreign currency loans both recorded a small rise. As Hong Kong dollar deposits registered a larger increase than Hong Kong dollar loans, the Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio fell to 81.5%.

Analysed by economic use, the expansion of domestic loans in the December quarter was broad-based. In particular, loans for stockbrokers and financial concerns rose notably. Trade financing, loans for manufacturing, transport and transport equipment also registered some increases. On the other hand, property-related loans fell during the quarter.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Hong Kong dollar M1 grew 6.4% during the month, and by 35.8% on a year ago. Unadjusted Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both rose by 2% during the month and by 6.2% and 5.9% respectively on a year-on-year comparison.